Struggling with A Level Compsci

IM in year 12, doing four a levels of Maths, Further Maths, Econ and Computer Science. I've just got my recent grade report, and although am okay in maths with an A*, am okay in econ with an A, am struggling with compsci with a C. Im doing OCR computer science alevel and it's so difficult, the mark scheme doesn't make any sense and there's barely any past papers to use. Its difficult and demotivating. Any advice or resources on how to get better?

Reply 1

RM-UK

Original post

by sajeedfu

University grade requirements and offers are based on 3 A levels, so doing a 4th is not a great help, especially if it is not plain sailing. Be careful that CS does not suck all your energy and start affecting your other grades. In fact, not doing CS might give you capacity to lift your Econ to an A*.

Perhaps dropping CS and taking up a hobby or volunteering will give you the time to develop new skills and add another dimension to you. This will give you something non academic to talk about in applications/interviews.

If you're doing it to keep CS options open, then I'm not sure it's helping. It could even have the opposite effect as they'd want that subject to be your strength.

Good luck with your decision.

Reply 2

MacTr11

Hey, totally understand your frustration OCR CS mark schemes are notoriously picky with terminology, and the lack of past papers doesn't help. But a C in Year 12 is completely fixable!

Quick advice:

Master the terminology - Half the marks come from using exact keywords examiners want. Make flashcards for definitions.

Reuse past papers strategically - Do them multiple times, focusing on how mark schemes phrase answers, not just what the answer is.

Play to your strengths - You're A* in Maths, so lean into algorithms, complexity, and Boolean logic - that's free marks.

Active practice - Code the concepts, don't just read notes. Understanding ≠ exam technique.

For OCR-specific resources, CompSciWizard.com has free revision materials, topic breakdowns, and past papers organised properly - really helpful for learning the "OCR language" the mark scheme expects.